Room slideout assemblies are used where it is desirable to have a room or compartment which is retractable and extendable, and can be found in recreational vehicles including, for example, Class A motor homes and some towable vehicles. A room slideout assembly can provide the occupant with the choice of additional space within the vehicle, often when the vehicle is parked. Then, when the vehicle is to be moved, the room slideout assembly can retract the room so that the vehicle is sufficiently narrow to permit driving the vehicle on normal highways.
Room slideout assemblies for control of a telescoping room have been constructed using a wide variety of designs. Known approaches include a rack and pinion design as well as the similar sprocket and hole design. In such designs elongate members, often referred to as rams or tubes, are attached to a sliding floor. A motor imparts rotary motion to a drive member such as the pinion or the sprocket, and the drive member urges the rams to move between a closed position and an extended position. The rams are typically attached to a sliding floor which is mounted over a fixed floor. The sliding floor may have walls of the room attached to it. An outer housing is typically provided in which the ram travels. The outer housing is attached to the fixed floor, often at or near a support frame.
Another known room slideout design uses a motor driven drive screw mounted in a central position between a pair of rams, with a motor mounted near one of the rams. Rotation of the drive screw moves a crosslink. The crosslink is rigidly connected to the rams so that the rams travel with the crosslink. A connecting shaft and gearbox link the motor to the drive screw. A cross shaft has gear teeth on it which engage openings on the ram. However, instead of acting as a driving member, the gear teeth and cross shaft are merely stabilization members.
Such known room slideout assemblies are relatively expensive and difficult to assemble. Moreover, space under the fixed floor for the room slideout assembly is restricted by, for example, outrigger overhanging, frame width and plumbing locations, etc. The location of the screw drive, the gears or the sprockets can interfere with such other components and vice versa. It would be highly advantageous to provide a room slideout assembly of compact design which is relatively insensitive to customer variations in componentry mounted below the floor.
In addition to problems with cost, complexity and customer variation in the location of under-floor mounted hardware, known room slideout assemblies, or slideouts, typically have other problems. Known rack and pinion slideout designs require a secondary brake to hold the room slideout assembly in position when the motor is shut off. It would be highly advantageous to provide a room slideout assembly which does not require a secondary brake, thereby providing smooth operation at reduced overall cost.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a room slideout assembly of compact and low cost design. It is yet another related object of the present invention to provide a low friction, smooth running room slideout device which is highly reliable in operation.